I would like to see a forum dedicated to showcasing penetration/damage shots... And the HiSpeed video could be a a forum instead of just a thread as well...

Last I checked PCGUY thinks we have enough forum sections as it is, and how many people here have hi-speed anyway? A couple of members with their Casio's last I recall.

The penetration showcase isn't such a bad idea, but I don't think it will float. You can always add damage pictures and videos to your cannon topics in the showcase section and/or make a topic about it in the General section if you shoot something impressive/do something impressive/of interest etc.

Spudhead: Built and fired a spudgun
Hairspray Queen: Built and fired a combustion spudgun
Air Head: Built and fired a pneumatic spudgun
The Good: Built and fired a 2x+ mix hybrid
The Bad: Built and fired a 10x+ mix hybrid
The Ugly Built and fired a 50x+ mix hybrid
Ironman: Built and fired a metal spudgun
6061: Built and fired an aluminum spudgun

The list would go on like that. We would make an entry in the spudwiki for the description of each with its appropriate badge of course

How about a stickied thread with display pictures of each badge/merit (and their urls). To use them you simply post the cannon(s) and proof in the thread, then use the badges however you want. They should be made small enough so multiples (and other stuff) can fit in a signature.

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PimpAssasinG wrote:no im strong but you are a fat gay mother sucker that gets raped by black man for fun

I wouldn't advocate distance as a category. This might seem counter intuitive to some, but it'll be nearly impossible to verify a claim of even 1/2 mile, and let's be entirely honest, pretty hard to do safely.

If your projectile is coming down a mile away, how can you possibly be sure your target area is clear? Sure, it may be one in a thousand that there's anyone near where you're shooting, but if a projectile is going a mile, then it'll still have a LOT of energy left over at the end. It's a basic fact of firing that far.

If you can fire that far safely, good for you, but I don't think we should actively be providing incentive to people to fire out into oblivion.

Penetration is a bit tricky, maybe it's better to do muzzle energy.

Muzzle energy is just a factor of cannon pressure and cannon size.

Penetration has other factors added in that make it more interesting.

Maybe chamber volume as well could be one, for people with ridiculously sized chambers.

I'm not really seeing the merit in "large" cannons. They may be neat, but it just shows a large budget and a large place to store it.

They aren't necessarily any more technically proficient than a cannon of any other size.

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Materials - in a similar vein to the above, why should it matter? If they're up to the job, should it matter whether it's aluminium, copper, steel, PVC or blue cheese? Perhaps separate metal into another category, but I see no reason to split types of metal.

I get the idea that some of the things people are suggesting are things they've done, rather than suitably generic goals.
If you're doing this, you should be able to justify the merit's existence. Why are the particular criteria of any real importance?

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I personally think the goals need to be a mark of proficiency, rather than budget or available resources. Personally, I'm more interested in someone doing a good job with limited supplies than someone being able to build the Blingcannon 5001 V3.1.8 from Grade Q Superalloy<sup>TM</sup>.

So, I'd put merits on the list for acts of innovation. Introducing a new idea, using something in a new way, that kind of thing.

Semi and Full-auto are fair enough categories to have, but I'd add a category for manually cycled repeaters. Pump, Lever and Bolt actions - even a revolver action - all of these are perfectly valid.

jrrdw wrote:As far as being in the club you want, just put it in your signature

The signature space is pretty darned limited as it is. Members can already link to their cannons, etc there.

A real merit system should ideally be moderated...given the award officially. How about a space in the avatar and total posts section where moderators/administrators can place little icons representing the merit badge the member has attained. The icons would need to be fairly small and meaningful little graphics that could be lined up next to each other.

This would require some coding on PCGUY's part but it might even be a good opportunity to bury the useless spudbux for everyone once and for all...as well as the private/sergeant/lieutenant stuff and star rankings.